gifts for grandkids

We have 2 grandkids (3 and nearly 2).

For their first birthdays, christenings we gave their mum money which she put into a bank account. And a little present of course. Now they have lots of friends from playgroup etc and they each got dozens of Fisher Price toys.

Now I know I'm sounding like a nanna here but they have SO MANY toys (my kids never had that etc etc):D.

Anyway they get lots of presents form friends, relatives, the other nannas.

I'd like to set something up for them rather than give them more toys or clothes.

Any ideas? Shares? How do you set it up? Giving money to put in the bank is OK but it goes nowhere fast.

Any advise or ideas welcome.
 
What about some Gold coins or Silver?

When i was born my parents set up a fund for me that matured, I used it to help buy my first house :)
 
Going to sound really old fashioned here, but what about something like the Dollarmite accounts that Commonwealth used to do? Some banks still do kiddy accounts and you could put a couple of dollars a week into them, or set them up with $50 or something and add to it as you felt comfortable.
Our kids both have Bendigo accounts and they get a piggy bank when they start, then a card on their birthdays and an invitation to go into the branch for a present. Haven't had too much yet, and it depends on what the branch has, but we've had juggling balls, and one of those magnetic word kits (like the poetry or funny words one you buy, but a more junior version with some blank letters and pictures for some things).
Have to say also, if you're short of grand-kids, would you like to adopt a couple more:D? Mine have absolute failures for grandies on both sides and no one is interested enough to do anything like this for them. I wish they had even one grandparent like you!:)
 
I think kids have way too much these days. I don't remember having anywhere near the amount of toys when I was younger. I think setting up some kind of fund or investment is such a great idea. It's a lot better then spending it on something that will be put in the cupboard a few months down the track - speaking from experience my almost 2 year old has so many toys that its getting ridiculous. She is just as happy to play with a big cardboard box with a window and door cut out. Although I must admit we can never have too many books!

I haven't got any ideas on what would be best however when my daughter was born I set up a managed fund, probably not the most amazing idea but it suited us at the time. We put the baby bonus in it and add a little each month. Hopefully by the time she is 21 it will have at least kept up with inflation and be a nice little deposit for a house or whatever she chooses.
I got the idea from my Aunty and Uncle who set up an account when i was born and every birthday and christmas they would put a few dollars in it. When I turned 18 they sent me the amount which kickstarted my savings for a deposit on a house.
 
shares in a bank (like CBA, or one of the other big four) are a good idea. I am actually looking at doing this for my own kids. Have the dividend automatically being reinvested, so they have a tidy little sum built up by the time they are adults and wanting to dip into it.
 
I want to do the same sort of thing for my own kids, but no one here has really described how it's done. Any suggestions please? Are shares purchased in the kid's names or ITF for them?
 
Oh you are all so good and organised! The best I've done so far is buy a good bottle of port in the year of their birth which they can have when they turn 21!

And yes ppl gave us cash as gifts when they were born but to be frank that got shoved in the purse and spent on nappies :eek: I'm terrible!

The plan then was that once they start school they can have $500 in their account to start with (I estimate that's about what all the gift's added up to). I quite like the look of the piggy's hanging around in ANZ but ofcourse I haven't checked out the interest rates or fees etc yet.

My daughter starts school next year and Tuesday is 'banking day'. Now this is a Catholic school which goes through a catholic bank or CBA so I'll wait and see which is the best option.

As for Xmas gifts I would still recommend you have something you can physically wrap up as for my kids that's all that matters (5 and 3). Piggy banks or money boxes are alway fun (my kids already have 2 each) and then Grandad does this great trick where he finds coins behind my daughters ears! They love it!
Thing is poor old Mummy can't replicate it and curses Grandad quietly each time I get the "But Grandad just got money from my head, can you do it?"
 
I want to do the same sort of thing for my own kids, but no one here has really described how it's done. Any suggestions please? Are shares purchased in the kid's names or ITF for them?

I am not really sure how its done, as in the specifics. All I know is it is some kind of trust that is also in my name (which also goes towards my tax) and it can not be accessed until she is 21. At the time I just went into the bank and spoke to one of their financial planners and told them what we wanted and they gave me some options (we chose a managed fund). This probably was not the best route to take but at the time it suited us as I had/have no knowledge of shares and didn't want it just sitting in the bank earning next to nothing in a savings account.

Most banks have some kind of kids saver accounts which you can go in and set up in their name. I am pretty sure all you need is a birth certificate to set one up.
 
Although I must admit we can never have too many books!
Sure you can. I've been buying/getting given books for years now, plus the books I had as a kid, and they fill to the brim a 6' bookshelf and overflow 2 shelves into another one. We've had to pack and stack the adult books to get them to fit. And more books keep coming ... and its almost Christmas/birthday time (both kids and myself have birthdays around Christmas - thankfully the other one will be July)

... a bigger house and then another bookshelf to put in it are at the top of my wishlist.
 
Sure you can.

You obviously have not read 'where is the green sheep' or 'Elmo loves puppies' more times than you can count on both hands AND feet... in one day variety is the key to sanity lol.

Nothing like redecorating with a few bookshelves. - says I who has books stacked up anywhere and everywhere they will fit and not one bookcase. I too dream of a bookcase in a larger house.
 
We put our baby bonuses into a separate bank account & topped it up each month with $100 for a while. We stole it off them within three years & put it into our 3rd property.

I believe they will be grateful when they're old enough to control their own money as they will be part of our property empire & portfolio.

I'm happier to hand down education & equity.
 
My house is 90sqm with 4 and a bit people in it and all the furniture from a much larger house and shed - we really don't have room for more books, as it is we've got boxes and boxes of Stuff everywhere there's just nowhere for :p I'm hoping to have this house sold by the end of February.

I want to get a little unit in Adelaide for the offspring when they are older. If the elder one still doesn't notice anything when she's left home she's not going to do very well in 'someone elses' house. She's getting my car too, assuming we're rich enough to replace it before she's 16. Although you should see her ride a bike - because she doesn't notice anything she's prone to just riding smack into really obvious obstacles, which isn't giving me a good feeling about her abilities come driving time ... we still don't let her walk to and from school by herself for the same reason (a lot of kids younger than her do). She wouldn't see a truck coming and just walk into it.
 
We put our baby bonuses into a separate bank account & topped it up each month with $100 for a while. We stole it off them within three years & put it into our 3rd property.

I believe they will be grateful when they're old enough to control their own money as they will be part of our property empire & portfolio.

I'm happier to hand down education & equity.

Great theory :p.

Our two oldest at nearly 21 and nearly 18 don't seem to have any appreciation of the fact that they will be sitting pretty "one day". They want it all now, particularly the oldest one.

He suggested recently "why not sell a house and buy another car NOW?".

Just because we are like we are, doesn't not mean ANY of it will rub off on to the kids :rolleyes:.
 
Yeah - I'm planning to buy that unit for her to live in not just give it to her - I'd remain the landlord but give security of tenure that you can't always get from a private landlord. She wants to get her own, she can save up for her own. I have around 9 years to get my act together and buy this place. Her current track record of earning money and saving is utterly non-existant, I'm at a loss to work out how to explain that money can be SAVED for larger purchases to an almost-9yo.

BTW if you give the grandkids a lump sum of money/shares that you've been putting aside for them when they hit 18, chances are that unless they've already got a good appreciation of the value of the stuff, they'll just blow that 18 years of compounded savings in the first week of having it. Holding onto it yourself quietly until they decide to buy their first house and then springing it on them would be a nicer gift but is the epitome of delayed gratification ;)
 
I want to do the same sort of thing for my own kids, but no one here has really described how it's done. Any suggestions please? Are shares purchased in the kid's names or ITF for them?

You can use a trust fund or you can purchase them in your own name (pretty sure you cann't buy them in the child's name). DH and I are going to buy them in our name, not even sure if we we will tell them about the shares - we want to retain control over them, so the money is spent / used in the way we wish and we don't want our kids to grow up feeling they are going to be entitled to anything.

We are also looking at opening up bank accounts for them, and depositing money each f/n. but this money will likely be used for education expenses (school fees, uniforms, etc).

We may give it to them for their 21st birthday, or towards a house deposit, or if they need it to live off if they choose to go to university, or a car... who knows - it is a long time in the future, and it will very well depend on the child and what type of person they turn out to be.

The baby bonus' dissapearred very quickly. The first ($3k) went towards our moving to canberra costs. the second ($4k) went towards the deposit for this house. The last (5k) is ending up getting spent on day to day living expenses, because the stupid govt decided everyone should get it in f/n payments rather then as a lump sum - I would prefer a lump sum.
 
I'm happier to hand down education & equity.

So how do you propose giving this for Christmas?

A wrapped 'More wealth from residential property' :cool:

and an IOU 'equity in the future' :confused::rolleyes:

I like the idea of buying shares and reinvesting dividends.

Having a child own and see their shares increase in value many times would be exciting and probably spurt on a desire for future investing.
 
BTW if you give the grandkids a lump sum of money/shares that you've been putting aside for them when they hit 18, chances are that unless they've already got a good appreciation of the value of the stuff, they'll just blow that 18 years of compounded savings in the first week of having it. Holding onto it yourself quietly until they decide to buy their first house and then springing it on them would be a nicer gift but is the epitome of delayed gratification ;)

This was one of our concerns, when we set our fund up, we had an option of making it only available for certain circumstances like education etc. Not sure how that works. We didn't end up doing it because who are we to say that she has to buy a house etc, she may need a car to travel to uni decide she wants to blow it on a holiday. It will be ultimately be her money to do as she pleases - even of we give her a gentle nudge (kick possibly?) in the right direction. We are considering the idea of not mentioning to he so she isn't expecting it and thinks its a great reason to slack off in the meantime. I recieved enough money for a deposit on my first house when i was 21 and i didn't spend a cent until I put it down as the deposit a couple of years later. I just hope i can pass down that kind of mindset to my kids.
 
Thanks everyone.

I have given money which goes into their bank account which is OK but not my ideal. Going from my own kids experience it didn't mean much to them.

I, of course, will still give them a present. Really they get just as much fun out of the fancy crayons, paper, feathers etc to make things etc that I give them than the $50 toys. And it's not expensive.

I might look into shares. I think if I bought shares in something that is meaningful to them (eg coca cola) that might be the way to go. They are only little so they don't understand yet. These are the first 2 so I have to think about what will happen if there are 8+ (still 3 more kids yet to reproduce).
I'll investigate further.

Thanks again.
 
You can use a trust fund or you can purchase them in your own name (pretty sure you cann't buy them in the child's name). DH and I are going to buy them in our name, not even sure if we we will tell them about the shares - we want to retain control over them, so the money is spent / used in the way we wish and we don't want our kids to grow up feeling they are going to be entitled to anything.

Hey rugrat, thanks. Was planning on buying the kids some "blue chip" shares that they can watch (hopefully) grow. Anyone else done this? If so, any recommendations as to what age this might make sense? (have 7yo and 4yo)

Also plan on getting them to read Richest Man in Babylon, but might be a little early for THAT just yet! :D
 
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